Skyler and Tyler
by Twyknight
Summary: An off-branch of Twy and Mew's Travels. The story of how Skyler a Lucario, and Tyler a human, met and fell in love. Note (You can still read even if you haven't read Twy and Mew's Travels, this story will still make sense.)
1. Chapter 1

Slowly the lights flickered on as the manager began to open up shop. Riolu, who was by now used to the Poké-pet store's routine, waited patiently to be fed.

As she watched, the manager made his way around the store dishing out Poké food to all the various Pokémon. All of the other Pokémon rushed to the edge of the kennels in twos and threes pushing each other to be the first one's there.

In her kennel the little Riolu didn't have that problem, though she wished she did. Solemnly the little Riolu walked to the edge of her kennel to stand solitarily waiting for her food.

After a bit, the manager made his way to her pin and dumped a bowl load of food inside.

"Hey there girl, just you now huh," asked the manager kneeling down to her eye level.

"I'm sure all your brothers and sisters found wonderful homes, and it's only a matter of time before you do to, so cheer up k." said the manager reaching over the kennel and ruffling the fur on top of her head.

Riolu nodded her head unconvinced, the manager had been telling her that for the last week, and every day that passed she believed it less and less.

A light jingle let both her and the manager know that a customer had entered the store, and without another word the manager headed to the front door.

After a few minutes a little girl came around the corner, looking timidly at all the Pokémon. Doing her best to get the little girls attention the Riolu walked to the edge of her cage, knowing that if she didn't at least try she would never find a home.

It was hard though since all of the others were doing the same.

Eventually the little girl began to make her way over to a pin of baby Skitties who were all running along the wall excitedly.

When the girl's mother and the manager came over the girl pointed excitedly to the Skitties, one of which the manager scooped out for her to hold.

Riolu felt a pang of jealousy as she watched the little girl smiling brightly as she hugged the Skitty affectionately.

As Riolu watched the little girl, two little boys came running into the store.

"Wow, Shaun look they've got a Riolu," said one of the boys running to her pin.

"Cool, mom look," said the other boy excitedly.

"I see, I see," said the mother waling in behind them and smiling at her excitable boys.

"But remember Shaun and Tyler you can each only pick one," said the mother reminding them gently.

"Oh I want an Absol," said the first boy taking off into the back of the store to find one.

"I want this one," said the other boy standing outside of Riolu's kennel.

"Ok," said the mother waving for the manager to come over.

Riolu felt a ray of hope as the manager came over to stand by them.

"This one," asked the manager motioning to her to make sure. The mother nodded but the manager hesitated for a second.

"I'm required by law to inform you that this one is the runt of the litter and will probably never get as big as its brothers and sisters," said the manager reluctantly.

"But I can tell you from personal experience that she is one of the most loving and affectionate Pokémon I have ever had the pleasure of caring for," said the manager trying his best to overwrite what he had just told them.

The mother seemed unaffected by the information but Riolu could tell that the boy was having an internal conflict.

It was obvious that the two boys planned on being competitors someday nearly every little boy did, and obviously they would need strong Pokémon by their side if they were to succeed. Their starter was especially important since it would decide their level of success from there on out.

On the other hand Riolu could tell that the boy felt bad that he had gotten her hopes up on getting adopted and was unable to just leave her there.

Unable to take it anymore Riolu walked away from the wall trying to appear disinterested as she tried to hold back the tears.

Seeming relieved the boy followed suit and wandered off to find his brother and his new starter.

Reaching his hand into the kennel the manager scratched her head comfortingly "I'm sorry girl," maybe next time," he said sounding apologetic, walking off to follow the boys and their mother.

Riolu didn't blame him though; she knew he had to tell them about her being the runt, it wasn't his fault, but it was the heart of her problem.

She wasn't cute or cuddly enough to attract a girl who just wanted a friend to play with, nor was she big or strong enough to attract a boy who wanted a partner to take the world by storm with.

Sadly she watched the rest of the day as people came and went taking other Pokémon home with them.

Eventually the day drew to an end and the manager began to close up the store. "I'm sorry girl, maybe tomorrow," said the manager stopping by her pin, before her turned out the lights and locked up.

Seeing that the store was closed the other Pokémon began to lie down for the night huddling up together to keep warm.

Crawling into the corner Riolu sat there with her legs drawn up and her arms wrapped around them, doing her best to give herself warmth.

After a bit she began to shiver and shake, partially from the cold and partially from the tears that had begun to stream down her face.

It was so unfair; she had never done anything to anybody, so why was she being punished just for being born.

All she wanted was a home and a child to love; she didn't even care if it was a boy or a girl. She would even be glad to have her siblings back, she just didn't want feel so alone.

She felt cold when she was alone, not just on the outside but on the inside too. Whenever the manager would pet her she would feel a little better but it wasn't enough to keep her warm.

She wasn't sure how much longer she could survive like this. She just wished that somebody would just come and rescue her soon.

Eventually the little Riolu cried herself into uneasy fitful sleep, and dreamt about the home she wished to have.

**End Chapter 1**

**See this is why I always end up taking the runt home, I just can't help it. I'm a sucker for small animals. Yet I somehow always end up with big dogs, even if I take the runt, maybe I'm feeding them too much…**

**Anyways, hope you liked the chapter and please Review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A big Thank you to everyone who read, followed, and reviewed last time ^^**

**Poketurn88: Here's the new chapter, a bit quicker then I usually manage. Lots of storms by me which means I'm stuck inside, which also means I have more time to dedicate to writing…so long as my power doesn't go out **

**nethowin: Thanks I'm glad you liked it. As for the grammatical mistakes, if you had time would you mind sending me a pm with a list of a few of the mistakes you spotted. I want to become a professional writer someday and I try to always go back and fix previous chapters when I can, so any help would be greatly appreciated.**

**beanboy21:Thanks I'm glad you read the other story too, originally I was supposed to be working on Suicune and Sean but that story is giving me hell right now so I figured I'd take a break and work on this instead.**

The lights flickered on as the manager began to open up the store beginning again the day's routine.

Putting on his uniform, and grabbing another bag of food, he made his way around until again he reached Riolu's kennel.

"Hey there girl, get a good night's sleep?" asked the manager pouring food into her bowl.

Riolu nodded her head doing her best to appear energetic.

"That's good," said the manager, smiling brightly.

The truth was Riolu had barely slept at all last night, just like every night before since she had been separated from her siblings, but there was no need to tell the manager that.

The manager was a kind soul and it would only make him worry needlessly to know that she was feeling lonely.

When the manager had finished dishing out food he unlocked the front door and turned the closed sign to open.

Almost immediately the bell rang as three people came inside.

The first was an older woman with blond hair and blue eyes, followed by a teenage boy with the same blond hair and blue eyes.

Following the both of them was a timid looking boy with brown hair and green eyes.

"Alright Jaden let me know when you find something," said the mother to the teenage boy.

As the teenager began to look around the younger boy stayed by their mother, clinging to her jacket sleeve.

"You know Gideon, your old enough to get your first Pokémon too," said the woman looking down at the little boy.

With wide eyes the boy looked up at what Riolu assumed was his mother, and shook his head vigorously.

"Now, now, no one ever said you had to fight with it, some people get Pokémon just to keep them as companions. Wouldn't it be nice to have a friend you could always play with when your brothers are busy," said the mother soothingly, dropping to his eye level.

"Tell you what, how about you have a look around just until your brothers finished. If you don't find anything by then we'll leave and I'll never bring it up again." said the mother taking his hands in hers.

After a moment of thought the boy nodded his head with a smile.

"That's my boy," said the mother wrapping him in a hug, "Now I'll be right here waiting for you so go on and have a look."

After a hesitant look back at his mother the boy began to browse the store.

The other Pokémon rushed up to the edge of their cages whenever he drew near, making him smile at their friendly eagerness and excitement.

Reaching through the kennels the boy gently pet the other Pokémon, only managing to increase their frenzied excitement.

When he came to her kennel Riolu hadn't really planned on bothering to go near him, but he waited so patiently at the edge of her pin that she figured she might as well let him pet her.

Riolu wasn't a big fan of getting petted; in fact she disliked it a lot. Most children where to ruff and to eager when they petted; pulling hair and making her skin sore, while most adults didn't put any feelings into it all. The only reason she let manager do it was because he was kind and gentle, and had always taken care of her ever since she could remember.

Why she was letting this boy do it she wasn't sure, but the way he had calmly moved from pin to pin making sure that every Pokémon got a turn at being petted made her sure that he was, at the very least, gentler then most of the children that came in here.

The boy smiled when she got up to move closer, and slowly he began to reach his hand inside.

Riolu was bit a shocked by the boys smile, unlike most people who just put smiles on for show, the boys smile was warm and sincere.

Distracted by her thoughts Riolu hadn't realized that the boys hand had drawn so close. She was about to pull away when she realized that he was already petting her. This whole time he had been petting her and she hadn't even realized it.

Like his smile, his touch was gentle and affectionate making Riolu feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Unconsciously Riolu nuzzled up against his hand, making the boy smile happily. Reaching his other hand through the mesh the boy rubbed her ear gently making it feel all tingly.

Riolu had never been petted like this before, the boy was giving her his complete and undivided attention, and she loved it.

The other Pokémon began to give her jealous looks as the boy continued to pet her, staying at her kennel longer then he had any of the others.

"Gideon, we're ready to go," called the boy's mother, making them both start with surprise.

Reluctantly the boy looked over his shoulder and called back "Coming."

With suddenly sad eyes the boy turned to leave the smile slipping from his face. Riolu didn't like how the boy's face looked sad, she wanted him to smile again like he had done just a few moments ago.

Without thinking Riolu reach out and took his hand in hers with both of hers, not wanting him to leave.

The boy looked back in surprise but he didn't try to pull away.

Reaching his other hand back into the kennel, he rubbed her ears while she still clung to his hand, not wanting to let go.

"Gideon, I said were leaving were are y… Oh," said the boy's mother coming around the corner and spotting them.

"Did you find a pet?" asked the mother leaning forward and putting her hands on her knees.

"No," said the boy slipping his handout from between Riolu's and returning it to his side.

For a moment the mothers face flashed with disappointment, and Riolu felt like her heart was going to break; but then the boy spoke up again.

"I found a friend," he continued, smiling happily.

"That's great honey," said the mother smiling and wrapping the boy in a hug.

As the mother waved for the manager to come over the other boy, Jaden, came to see what they were doing.

"You want this one?" asked Jaden crouching down beside the younger boy to look at Riolu.

"Maybe you should just wait a bit until we find another one, Lucarios are cool but his ones a runt it'll always be kinda on the small side," said Jaden motioning with his hand towards Riolu.

Riolu felt the familiar pit in her stomach form as she realized that for the hundredth time, that stupid simple fact would rob her of a home.

For a moment the boy processed what his brother was telling him then he answered, "I know, I knew when I first seen her she's just like me," said the boy.

Riolu couldn't believe her ears, he was the first person ever to still want her after finding out what she was.

"I could catch you one in the wild easily enough," said the elder brother undeterred, "In fact I could catch you anything you wanted."

"I don't really want a Lucario, or a Riolu," said the boy, shrugging his shoulders and making Riolu's heart sink, "I want her," he finished turning back to look at Riolu and smile.

"You're so weird," laughed Jaden ruffling the top of the boys head, "But I get it, she's one of a kind eh?"

The boy's only response was a slight nod.

"This one?" asked the manager, motioning towards Riolu.

"Yes," answered the boy's mother nodding her head.

"I'm required by law to tell you that she is the runt of the litter and will probably never grow to be as large as her siblings," said the manager reluctantly.

"I know," said the boy brightly, cutting off the managers follow up speech.

"You do, oh… well that's… wonderful," said the manager a little taken aback, "I'll ah, go get the papers you'll need to adopt her.

"Wait not yet," said the boy suddenly," I forgot something."

Walking up to her pin the boy slid his hands partway through the mesh so that he could take her hands in his.

"I forgot to ask you if you wanted to come," said the boy looking Riolu in the eyes, "I promise I'll be the best friend ever and I'll always look after you."

Riolu was shocked; throughout her entire stay here she had never once heard a human ask a Pokémon if they wanted to stay or to go, they had simply just taken them with. Not that any Pokémon had ever wanted to refuse, but still the gesture was not lost on Riolu.

Without hesitation Riolu nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Well now that that's settled, I'll need you to fill out these," said the manager cheerfully, handing a few slips of paper to the boy's mother.

Riolu couldn't believe how lucky she was to find a home and a family that would be so loving and caring. It made her feel like all this time that she had spent waiting, was worth it.

"I promise we'll have lots of fun, and we can share all of my things, and swim in the pool, and play at the park, and…," began the boy rattling off a long list of things that she would like about her new home, unaware that simply holding her hands like he was made her far happier than anything else.

Removing her left hand from the boy's grip Riolu wiped away the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes.

For a moment the boy's face clouded in confusion, unable to understand what he had done to make her sad, but Riolu wasn't sad. In fact she was happier then she could ever remember being and for the first time in her entire life, she was crying tears of joy.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the wait, wish I could say this was the last time it will take me that long, but probably not. Anyway here's the third chapter of SkylerXTyler enjoy ^^**

"Up you go," said the manager, lifting Riolu out of her pin and setting her down on the other side.

It felt strange for Riolu to be outside, on the other side of the mesh.

"Now you be a good girl ok, I want you to promise me that no matter what happens you'll find yourself happiness," said the manager, dropping to his knees so that he was eye level with Riolu.

Nodding her head, Riolu couldn't understand why the manager looked like he was about to cry.

"That's a good girl," said the manager, ruffling the fur on top of her head.

"Alright, all done," said Gideon's mother, walking over and handing the adoption papers back to the manager.

"Thank you mam, is there anything else I can do for you?" asked the manager, as he stood back up.

"No I think that'll be… Oh! You know what, you wouldn't happen to sell collars here would you?" asked the woman.

"As a matter of fact we do, I've got your phone and address here, have you decided on a name for her yet Ms. umm… Finley?" asked the manager glancing down at the papers in his hand.

"Oh please, call me Catherine, and I think so," said the woman, looking down at Gideon who was tugging on her sleeve.

"Sorry, he's going through this shyness phase," said Catherine smiling apologetically, and leaning down so that Gideon could whisper in her ear.

As she listened to the name that Gideon had chosen a smile crept across her face.

Riolu felt strangely tense as she impatiently waited to hear the name that would soon be hers.

"That's a beautiful name," said Catharine standing back up, "Skyler, he's decided to call her Skyler."

"Alright, I'll have that out in just a moment," said the manager heading off into the back of the store.

So, Skyler was her new name, she liked it, but in that moment she probably would have been happy with anything.

Skyler felt extremely happy, happier then she could ever remember being. She had a new home, a new name, and mostly importantly a new family. It was all she could do, to keep herself from wriggling and dancing around the room in joy.

Still, through all of the excitement she felt nervous and strangely self conscious. What was she supposed to do? Was she supposed to follow Gideon or Catherine, was she allowed to roam around freely or was she expected to stay close. Was it ok if she approached people, or were people only allowed to approach her.

Feeling slightly confused Skyler looked at the people around her, hoping to find some sort of indication on what she was supposed to do.

Catherine was digging through her purse, intently looking for something that she couldn't seem to find, while Gideon's brother, Jaden, was busy with his phone.

Skyler decided that she'd get nothing from them and decided to look to Gideon instead. She felt her heart jump when she looked and found that Gideon was already looking back at her.

As their gazes met Gideon smiled at her making her face heat up.

Skyler couldn't understand why her heart was beating so quickly. Though she didn't fully understand the feeling, she kinda liked it.

"Will this be it for you?" asked the manager, returning from the back with a small pink collar in hand.

"Yes it will," said Catherine accepting the collar from the manager and handing it to Gideon.

"Sorry, we only have them in two colors red for boys and pink for girls," said the manager motioning to the collar.

"That's fine it'll be perfect, do you take credit?"asked Catherine.

"That'll be fine; if you'll just follow me we can handle the transaction up front," said the manager, leading the way to the front desk, and leaving Skyler and Gideon alone.

Unable to hold her curiosity back any longer Skyler cautiously moved towards Gideon to get a closer look at the collar.

"Do you know what this is?" asked Gideon, holding up the collar for her to see.

Skyler shook her head, she knew that most adopted Pokémon got them, but she wasn't sure what it was for.

"It's so that if you get lost, people know where you belong and can bring you back home," said Gideon fiddling with the collar.

"It has another meaning though; if you put it on it means you belong to me, but I promise that I'll always take care of you, and never give you away, do you still want it?" asked Gideon nervously.

Skyler nodded her head vigorously, of course she did. She had wanted this for as long as she could remember. Had it been anybody else Skyler wasn't so sure that's she would have answered so easily, but something about Gideon put her at ease.

Gideon smiled looking slightly surprised and relieved at her sudden answer. "Alright then, it's a promise; as long as you still want me to, I'll always be there for you and take care of you," said Gideon putting the collar around her neck.

Skyler had expected the collar to itchy and tight, but Gideon had made sure that it was loose enough to be comfortable.

Turning to look at her reflection in the store's glass window, Skyler inspected the collar around her neck.

It was pink, but not _too_ pink. A small metal disc hung from the center with writing on it that she couldn't read. Beyond that it was pretty plain; one solid color for the entire collar, so why did she feel so much pride when she looked at it?

"Gideon, Skyler, it's time to go," called Catherine, from the front of the store.

"Come on," said Gideon, moving forward and gently taking Skyler by the hand.

Skyler felt her heart begin to race in that peculiar way again, as Gideon held her hand leading her along.

"Have a nice day mam," said the manager, as Skyler and Gideon made their way to the front.

"Thank you, you too," said Catherine holding open the door for Skyler and Gideon.

Skyler held her breathe as they passed through, this was her first time ever being outside of the store that she could remember.

The first thing to hit her was the light; it wasn't much brighter outside, but it was a different kind of light, it was a warmer kind of light. It made her fur feel warm; it reminded her of the warmth of her siblings as they would snuggle up together at night.

The second thing to hit her was the smells; there were sooo many new smells, some of them were familiar, and some of them were completely foreign. She could smell all sorts of flowers, and other creatures as well, but the most prevailing smell came from the black ground beneath her feet.

Trying to investigate it as best she could while walking, Skyler found that she didn't like the black ground at all. It was hard and scratchy making her feet sore, and its smell was strong and overpowering, every breathe of it making her choke. Thankfully its smell was old and weak, like it had been there for a long time, Skyler really hoped that all the ground outside wasn't like that.

The third thing to hit her was the wind; Skyler felt alight tingle along her body as it blew through her fur. Inside Skyler had felt gust of winds when ever somebody had opened the door, but those had always been really cold or really hot. This was different; it was refreshing and soothing, whisking away the foul smell of the black ground and bringing with it millions of new smells.

Unfortunately she was unable to stop and admire all of these new sights and smells. Gideon was still holding on to her hand, he kept as steady pace following after his mother and Skyler was unwilling to let go. She almost like he was the only thing anchoring her down, and if she let go she would be whisked away never to be seen again.

"Jaden, help Skyler into the car please, she's probably going to have some trouble," said Catharine opening the driver's side door to the car.

"I can do it," says Gideon, opening the door behind hers.

"Here you go first and I'll help you up," says Gideon to Skyler, motioning for her to go first.

Climbing up onto the small rail that ran along the side of the car, Skyler grabbed hold of one of the seats while Gideon steadied her back.

After she climbed up, Skyler found herself sitting a full head taller than Gideon, at least until he scrambled up after her.

"Seat belts," calls Catherine from the front, putting on her own.

"Here put this on," says Gideon, wrapping the seat belt around Skyler, fastening her into the seat next to him.

"All buckled in?" asked Catherine, looking at them through the rear-view mirror.

"Yep," answered Gideon, giving her a thumbs up.

Skyler jumped in her seat as Catherine turned the key in the ignition and a loud vrooming noise surrounded her. After a moment the noise died down and settled into a steady hum.

Skyler felt her stomach turn over as the car began to move. Immediately, a million different sounds and smells assaulted her senses, as a rough wind began to blow around the inside of the car. This coupled with the motion and her nervousness made her quickly feel unwell.

A good explanation of what Skyler was going through would be like if a dozen people were all trying to talk to you at once, and all of them were trying to talk over each other to get your attention, and you were forced to stand there and listen to them. On top of that, these were all people that you had just met moments ago.

"Mom, Skyler's shaking," said Gideon, looking at Skyler with concerned eyes.

"She's probably just feeling a bit overwhelmed honey, why don't you try and see if you can get her to lie down, and I'll roll up the windows," said Catherine, rolling up the car windows.

"Hey if you lay down it might make you feel better," said Gideon, taking hold of Skyler's hand.

Without letting go of Gideon's hand Skyler leaned over and laid her head in Gideon's lap.

For a moment Gideon looked down in surprise, feeling slightly embarrassed; he had expected Skyler to lay down the other way.

Seeing that she was still shaking, Gideon swallowed his embarrassment and with his free hand began to pet her head in what he hoped was a soothing fashion.

As his fingers ran through her fur, Skyler immediately felt her nerves come down. Focusing on the gentle repetitive motions, she allowed the rest of her senses to fade into the background.

Nuzzling his hand, Gideon continued to pet her, making her feel warm and comfortable. Skyler felt suddenly tired, and struggled to stay awake. Just moments ago she had been desperate for the car ride to end, but now, she didn't care if it went on forever.

**Yay they finally made it out of the poke-pet store. Sorry I know this is moving really slowly :(**


End file.
